©  Elizabeth  Wood            February  2013  

Multicultural  Education  Issues  and  Perspectives  Seventh  Edition  James  A.  Banks  and  Cherry  A.  McGee  Banks    

 Chapter  13  Review:  Educational  Equality  for  Students  with  Disabilities      

1) Why  are  both  children  who  are  learning  disabled  and  those  who  are  gifted  considered  exceptional?      According  to  this  author,  these  students  are  both  considered  exceptional  because  they  require  individualized  programs  in  order  to  meet  their  diverse  needs  (pg  330).        

2) In  what  ways  are  students  with  disabilities  similar  to  and  different  from  other  students?        Students  with  disabilities  are  similar  to  other  students;  because  for  the  most  part  once  the  educational  aspect  is  removed  they  have  the  same  desires.    All  kids  want  to  have  fun,  they  like  interacting  with  others,  and  generally  speaking  they  want  to  feel  valued  by  others.    What  makes  them  different  is  the  educational  arena.    Students  with  disabilities  need  something  extra,  whether  is  be  extra  time  or  guided  notes  or  extra  one-­‐on-­‐one  time  with  the  teacher.    Sometimes  it’s  a  physical  disability,  but  I  don’t  believe  this  is  the  avenue  the  text  is  taking.        

3) What  are  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  labeling  and  classifying  students  with  disabilities?      

Advantages   Disadvantages  

-­‐ Recognizes  important  differences  in  learning,  which  is  the  first  step  to  meeting  those  differences    

-­‐ Helps  professionals  communicate  with  one  another  and  classifications  can  be  used  for  research  

-­‐ Funding  is  often  associated  with  specific  requirements  

-­‐ Allows  disability-­‐specific  groups  to  promote  their  cause  and  plead  for  legislation    

-­‐ Labeling  the  children  make  their  needs  visible  to  policy  makers  and  the  public  in  general  

-­‐ Most  people  think  of  what  the  person  with  a  disability  can’t  do,  as  opposed  to  what  they  can  

-­‐ Peers  may  redicule  or  reject  the  child  -­‐ Negative  impact  on  child’s  self  esteem  -­‐ May  cause  other  people  to  have  low  

expectations  for  the  child  (self-­‐fulfilling  prophecy)    

-­‐ “labels  that  describe  a  child’s  performance  deficit  often  mistakenly  acquire  the  role  of  explanatory  constructs”  

-­‐ that  label  may  keep  student  out  of  the  regular  classroom  

-­‐ For  exceptional  students,  it’s  costly  and  requires  professionals  to  dedicate  time  to  these  students  instead  of  lesson  planning,  delivering,  and  receiving  instruction.      

 4) How  did  the  civil  rights  movement  influence  the  movement  for  educational  equality  for  students  with  

disabilities?        Educationally,  students  who  were  different  either  by  race  or  mental  capabilities  were  denied  access  to  an  equal  education.    But  with  the  civil  rights  movement,  this  began  to  change.    Society  beliefs  about  equality,  freedom,  and  justice  changed  and  have  expanded.    Education’s  response  slowly  changed  

©  Elizabeth  Wood            February  2013  

along  as  well.    It  may  not  have  been  without  resistance,  but  ever  since  Brown  v.  Board  of  Education  of  Topeka    education  has  become  more  equal  for  students  as  time  goes  on.        

5) What  is  an  IEP  and  how  can  it  benefit  students  with  disabling  conditions?        An  IEP  is  an  Individualized  Education  Plan  that  list  certain  accommodations  students  with  disabilities  receive.    An  IEP  is  beneficial  to  students  because  it  identifies  the  level  they’re  currently  at,  identifies  where  the  child  should  be  at,  and  lists  various  accommodations  for  meeting  the  goal.    Without  an  IEP,  these  students  receive  special  accommodations.        

6) How  does  the  concept  of  least  restrictive  environment  influence  alternative  placement  for  students  with  disabilities?      The  concept  of  LRE  requires  that  each  child  with  a  disability  be  educated  in  a  setting  that  resembles  as  closely  to  a  regular  class  in  which  his/her  needs  can  be  met.    Just  because  two  students  have  the  same  disability  does  not  mean  that  they  will  be  placed  in  the  same  setting,  because  they  might  not  flourish  the  same.    The  three  aspects  that  are  considered  in  the  integration  process  are  academic  curriculum,  extracurricular  activities,  and  other  school  activities  (like  recess  and  lunch).    The  more  severe  a  disability,  a  student  could  be  homebound  or  hospital  bound.    The  second  would  be  residential  school,  separate  school,  a  resource  room,  regular  classroom  with  supplementary  instruction,  regular  classroom  with  consultation,  and  then  the  regular  classroom.        

7) Do  you  think  all  students  with  disabilities  should  be  educated  in  the  regular  classroom?    Why  or  why  not?      I  do  not  believe  that  ALL  students  with  disabilities  should  be  educated  in  the  regular  classroom.    I  believe  that  a  majority  of  students  with  disabilities  can  thrive  in  a  regular  class,  but  I  do  not  think  it’s  suitable  for  all  students.    When  I  was  in  high  school,  there  were  several  students  who  were  kept  in  the  resource  room  for  a  majority  of  their  classes.    I  was  tracked  with  the  same  kids  in  the  higher-­‐level  classes.    Social  studies  was  the  only  class  that  was  not  separated  and  we  often  mixed  for  this  class.    I  remember  in  great  detail  the  agony  my  senior  year  was.    When  the  regular  teacher  taught,  she  taught  to  level  but  when  the  other  students  acted  up  we  were  all  punished  and  forced  to  outline  chapters.    When  the  resource  teacher  taught,  the  questioning  was  so  basic  and  the  content  moved  so  slowly  that  my  friends  and  I  were  often  bored.    Things  progressed  like  this  until  one  day  we  were  complaining  to  the  main  teacher  and  the  resource  teacher  overheard.    She  was  devastated  (and  now  as  a  teacher  myself  I  understand  why)  and  never  interacted  with  my  friends  or  I  again.        Now  as  a  teacher,  I  have  the  same  belief  because  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  mix  two  such  groups.    I  would  rather  be  able  to  focus  on  making  more  effective  lesson  plans  and  looking  for  new  ideas  than  planning  how  to  change  one  lesson  3-­‐5  different  ways.    It’s  exhausting.    The  paperwork  is  also  draining,  and  if  I  ignore  the  paperwork  it  is  without  a  doubt  that  that’s  the  week  or  the  assignment  that  I  will  get  nailed  on.        I  am  not  saying  that  every  student  with  a  disability  should  be  kept  out  from  the  regular  room,  because  I  have  seen  successes.    It’s  just  the  key  word  in  the  question  was  all.    

8) Why  are  collaboration  and  teaming  between  special  and  general  educators  so  critical  to  the  quality  of  education  experienced  by  children  with  disabilities?        

©  Elizabeth  Wood            February  2013  

 The  collaboration  between  special  and  general  educators  is  important  for  many  reasons.    First,  the  general  educator  is  able  to  ask  about  accommodations  and  get  advice  on  how  to  help  the  student.    Second,  the  special  educator  is  able  to  check  in  on  what’s  going  on  in  the  class  to  make  sure  the  regulations  are  being  met.    Third,  the  meeting  is  important  to  make  sure  the  child  is  still  improving.    If  the  child  is  not,  a  reassessment  might  be  needed.      

9) In  your  view,  what  is  the  most  critical  challenge  currently  facing  the  education  of  exceptional  students?    What  suggestions  would  you  make  for  meeting  that  challenge?        From  a  teacher’s  point  of  view,  the  biggest  challenge  with  TAG  students  is  that  they  finish  their  work  so  much  sooner  than  their  counterparts.    I  have  found  that  most  students  are  labeled  “TAG”  because  they’re  quiet  and  well  behaved,  so  I  thought  this  was  what  a  TAG  student  was  until  this  year.    I  now  have  a  true  TAG  student.    We  will  call  him  Jay.    Jay  is  very  bright  and  remembers  everything  he  ever  hears.    Jay  is  social  and  well  liked,  and  really  active  in  the  school.    The  problem  I  have  with  Jay  is  that  he  is  so  focused  on  “do  it,  get  it  done”  that  he  finishes  every  assignment  in  a  third  of  the  time  it  takes  my  average  student.    Very  rarely  does  Jay  get  something  wrong,  so  I  can’t  really  penalize  him.        I  have  had  a  couple  of  conversations  about  what  I  can  do.    I  have  given  him  my  “Ayudante  de  la  Maestra”  title.    If  someone  is  absent,  Jay  fills  out  my  absent  sheet  and  attaches  worksheets  for  absent  students.    When  papers  need  to  be  handed  back  Jay  does  so  at  the  beginning  of  the  hour.    As  far  as  curriculum  is  related,  I  have  created  lessons  that  allow  Jay  to  thrive  (teaching  US  vocabulary),  but  he  didn’t  thrive  like  I  expected  (I  think  due  to  the  group  he  was  with).        I’ve  recently  been  browsing  blogs  written  by  other  Foreign  Language  teachers.    I  have  found  some  good  ideas  that  I  would  like  to  prepare  ahead  of  time  for  next  year.    Some  ideas  include  a  verb  Sudoku,  a  jigsaw  puzzle  that  emphasizes  correct  verb  formation,  and  some  authentic  reading  texts  using  infographics.    I  have  just  discovered  the  first  two  activities  so  I’m  hoping  by  next  year  I  will  be  able  to  have  extras  available  and  on-­‐hand  for  students  like  Jay.